Discussions on anything that hits the road, which generally means vehicle maintenance and pop-up camping.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Broken soft top zipper pull

My '95 Jeep Wrangler came with a factory hard top. After a couple years of lifting it on & off with every weather change, I bought an old, used Bestop Supertop that was designed for a CJ-7. It works on my YJ, and the price was right, but it's showing its age. Some of the zippers that hold the vinyl windows in place are getting a little stubborn & probably need to be lubed. Recently, the metal zipper pull tab on one of the side windows broke off the zipper body (it had been bending for a while, and it's only made of pot metal). The solution was easy & nearly free.
I simply grabbed a spare key ring from our miscellaneous key basket. Since the bodies are pretty large on these window zippers, a standard 1" ring fit perfectly through the hole. It's actually easier to grab than the original pull tab was, which is nice when the zipper gets stubborn. I like the style and function of just the ring by itself, but you could easily put any sort of fob on the ring to make it even easier to pull.

What's the easiest or most ingenious fix you've ever made for a vehicle problem? Do tell in the comments below.